campus

Friday, Feb. 8, Grand Valley State University’s Board of Trustees approved price increases for on-campus housing and meal plans for the 2019-2020 academic year. The unanimous vote increased housing costs by $17 per semester and main meal plan costs by $50 per semester. The total increase was 2.2 percent, a $1.2 million increase overall.
The decision by the board was reached following reviews of GVSU’s tuition costs, as well as the costs of facility operations and student employment. Each year, the board addresses the housing and dining rates in February and tuition rates in July. The July date gives the administration time to factor in enrollment numbers for the fall in calculating tuition rates it proposes to trustees.

On Friday, Feb. 15, Grand Valley State University’s Opera Theatre presented “Wonderful Town,” a production originally created by composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green. GVSU's run of the productions began the weekend of Feb. 8 and wrapped the following weekend on Feb. 17.

In the Fall 2017 semester, 81.9 percent of undergraduate students at Grand Valley State University were white, and minority students make up an even lesser percentage of GVSU’s Frederik Meijer Honors College.
Director of the Honors College Roger Giles recently spoke at a student senate meeting about some changes in curriculum, refocusing on issue-based courses and improving diversity. Senate members had plenty of questions and advice for Giles, many focusing on collaboration with campus diversity resource groups.

Spanning from Feb. 4 through March 30, Grand Valley State University will compete in RecycleMania for another year. RecycleMania is a nationwide competition challenging all colleges and universities to bring awareness to recycling.
“Recycling (should be a) part of your life, it’s not just a one-time thing,” said Janet Aubil, waste management leader of the campus sustainability advisory council.

In an effort to increase the utilization of Grand Valley State University’s “Laker Guardian” app, Grand Valley Police Department is running a logo design contest open to all current GVSU students.
“This contest will allow our students to showcase their talents — not only for those going into visual arts and media, but those students who design or draw as a hobby,” said GVPD Sgt. William O’Donnell.

For many students living on campus, meal plans represent their access to breakfast, lunch and dinner. While there are a variety of meal plans, members of Grand Valley State University’s student senate view the costs of these plans as a barrier for some students and seek to address the issue, entertaining the idea of an income-based meal plan for future semesters.
Student senator Darwin Harris, a proponent of the income-based meal plan, states that the idea stemmed from past encounters with Replenish, the campus food pantry that services students suffering from food insecurity. He cited a lack of resources and funding as a limiting factor for the food pantry, as it relies on donations and other charitable events in order to remain operational.

With an anti-vaccination movement on the rise, the possession of accurate information on vaccines is becoming increasingly in demand across college campuses.
The student senate’s Student Health and Wellness Taskforce reported that while Grand Valley State University’s vaccination rates have had an increase since 2014, they still fall below the national average.

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have had to continuously improve the way we access, supply and sanitize water. Today, between the crisis in Flint, the disproportionate control of water resources in Africa and lack of proper sanitation in developing countries like Ghana and Nepal, it's clear that this remains a challenge for humans today. In an effort to garner more attention, support and solutions, Grand Valley State University is currently hosting an exhibit which addresses these issues.

Telling women to cover up their bodies hardly encourages body love and empowerment. And for health and safety reasons? You’ve got to be kidding me. Is an inch of skin around the waist really that much more dangerous than the skin on the shoulders, thighs and arms? I’m no expert, but I think not.